The Navigator October 2004

OCTOBER 2004

IN THIS ISSUE

· XALLES NEWS: NEW CLIENTS AND NEW COUNTRIES
· CUSTOMER FOCUS: ITS IN SOUTH AMERICA

· CREATIVITY INFUSION: BPR CONCEPTS AND TECHNIQUES
· CHAIRMAN'S CORNER: THE GLOBAL BUSINESS VILLAGE

NEWS

New Clients

The creative arts provide many positive benefits to our society. Music is an art form that we live with on a daily basis thus it is an excellent instrument for sending positive messages. Xalles has been recently chosen to provide management services to two more up and coming entertainment artists whose goals are to send positive messages to society through their music. Our roster of artists as management and business strategy clients now includes singers, songwriters, pianists, dancers, choreographers, script writers, and lifestyle designers. Our entertainment industry experience has also been enhanced this quarter with the recent business design project involving the launch of a new entertainment company in Europe.

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New Countries

Our geographies keep expanding and this month we added Russia to our long list of client countries. Xalles is embarking on a project for marketing strategy and international distribution for a manufacturing firm located in Siberia. Xalles is also contributing to the economy in South America by assisting firms in Brazil with marketing their products and services into North America, Europe and the Middle East.

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CUSTOMER FOCUS

Business Development in South America

Instituto de Tecnologia de Software (ITS)

Reports cite that growth forecasts for South America’s largest country Brazil are better than expected. Government reports show that consumer spending has gone up and unemployment has fallen.

Many organizations today, such as the non-profit association, Instituto de Tecnologia de Software (ITS), based in Sao Paulo, are contributing to Brazil’s economic growth by providing services to local businesses and entrepreneurs.

ITS was founded in March 1997, from a joint initiative stemming from private companies, universities, class associations and Sao Paulo State government agencies. The Institute operates in Sao Paulo as a Nucleus for the SOFTEX Program, managed by the Society for the Promotion of Excellence in Brazilian Software - SOFTEX, which has approximately a thousand associate companies throughout Brazil.

The main objectives of ITS are: to support capitalization by bringing investors and prospects closer, the generation of new businesses, the development of new ventures, and the promotion of workshops and educational courses geared at enhancing software companies’ capabilities. ITS maintains a membership of over 100 IT companies that profit from its services.

Thomas Nash, Chairman and CEO of Xalles and ArrowVista, was in Brazil in August to give a seminar in Sao Paulo on International Marketing for Information Technology Companies. The seminar was sponsored by ITS, who have recently formed an alliance relationship with ArrowVista, an existing Xalles partner.

Xalles and ArrowVista have joined forces with ITS to further enhance the services they provide to their members. Xalles and ArrowVista will provide educational seminars related to the implementation of information technology and marketing strategy, provide international marketing advice, and will assist ITS in the recommendation and acquisition of third party international distributors and resources for ITS members and their products. ArrowVista will also offer systems implementation services on an international basis to ITS members and assist ITS with international trade missions.

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CREATIVITY INFUSION

BPR Concepts and Techniques

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is large, initiative based change, in contrast to Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) which is ongoing in nature, and the change is an adjustment made in response to measured results. Companies should apply these concepts and techniques to produce better results in process and organizational transformation.

1. Destroy the old before implementing the new. “Sacred Cows” that do not serve a purpose and are left standing can do a lot of damage throughout a major change initiative. Don’t ignore them, battle them head on.

2. Use a third party from outside your department to review your work. People too close to a set of processes are often more conservative with the amount of change they recommend.

3. Involve customers, suppliers and other stakeholders in your design process. It not only gives you some needed perspectives but also starts the buy-in process early before the transition phase.

4. During the transition phase, combine paths of shocking change with gradual change. Too much of one or the other will hinder results. Grab attention with some of the changes and roll others out seamlessly.

5. Do not settle for mediocre results. Change can be difficult on most people, so make the change you implement worthwhile enough that people will persevere during the critical periods of uncertainty.

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THE CHAIRMAN'S CORNER

The Global Business Village

As our business continues to expand geographically this year into new countries and cultures, I am constantly reminded of the exciting and complex Global Business Village within which we live and work.

We are presently working with companies on 4 continents concurrently and we are often faced with complex business challenges. The key to a creative solution to these problems can sometimes be found on the other side of the world.

From diversity comes new ideas, improved understanding, opportunities and business strength. As a consultant it is natural to share experiences and look for creative ways to solve problems, but I would suggest that we can all learn more from the techniques used in other regions of the world without having to travel to every corner of the globe.

All people and cultures see the world from their own perspective. A lot of the time these biases can be limiting, but when solving problems, you want different points of view and the perception filters can assist you. If you draw upon the right people at the right time and capture their ideas, as seen from their perspective, you may obtain richer set of information to work with.

The next time you are faced with a tough problem, ask yourself, how would my foreign business partner or customer handle this on a different continent? If you are not sure what that answer might be, then its time to start asking questions and learning more. Embrace the Global Business Village and you may be amazed at what you will discover.

TWN.

Thomas W. Nash is the Chairman and CEO of Xalles Limited, based in Dublin, Ireland.

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For previous issues of The Navigator please click on the following:

May 2004